The Merrow Bride
by Remember Ember
Summary: Based upon the Irish tale, the merrow bride. The story of a man and a merrow, and one fateful meeting.


Once upon a time, in a time before our own, there lived a man by the name of Mark. Now, Mark was an unusual fellow on his small Irish village, where he lived after moving from America, for reasons he told none. He was known for his voice, for it was by far the loudest, strangest, most boisterous voice any had heard. But, he kept to himself much, preferring the calming sanctuary of his home than the busy little town and its busy little people.

But, there were many a day when the American would wander along the shores of the sea, wishing for a bride to call his own. He would talk to himself, on occasion, listening to his echoes reply. And, some said, the reply was not his own voice, but ghosts that were lost at sea.

...

In this time, where Mark walked across the beach and loudly proclaimed his thoughts to any who would listen, another was also making a name for himself, far below the sea where Mark roamed.

Under the depths, there lived the merrows. A race of fish-people who lived beneath the waves. These beings were mystical, and came in all different shapes and sizes. There were sharks and eels, jellyfish and angelfish, and so many more.

And all lived in harmony together.

All but one, one lone merrow, prince of the sea. A prince who longed for the world beyond the ocean, and hated his soon-to-be crown and title as 'King'. There were other children, younger and far more eager for the throne than he. And yet, his father wished for he to take the crown.

He believed it was to prove that, although he was an eel, he would still be fit to rule the kingdom as his father had. And to give the merrow a reason to keep his head from the clouds, literally. To give him a reason to love the sea.

His name, was Sean.

But, Sean went by Jack when he hid amongst the other merrows, far from his kingdom. And here, he would be himself. He would hunt with the outskirts, helping them find and catch food. He would even warm it up for them, on occasion, with his tail, zapping it with a powerful electricity.

He was a ferocious hunter, and though he spent most of his time with the lowest of his people, they wouldn't be able to tell you anything about him but that. For he was quiet around them, hiding in the shadows, never eating or staying the night.

Sometimes, instead of sleeping, he would swim to the surface to look at the stars, but no one ever commented on it.

Perhaps this is why no one noticed he was missing until days afterwards.

...

If Mark had believed in destiny, this would have been it. He'd been walking along the shore, talking to himself as normal. And then he'd heard it, a soft humming tune. The sound was beautifully haunting, especially in the slight mist that had accumulated over night and stayed for early morning.

He followed the tune, carefully stepping across the rocks. And as he got closer, the song became louder, and louder, till he was able to discern the voice. It was male, the humming had transitioned to singing, in a language unknown to Mark.

And when he found the being to whom the voice belonged, he was entranced. The creature was humanoid, at first glance you might even call him human. But, getting closer to see the finer details, Mark knew he was not.

The being had sharp teeth, and eyes that seemed to radiate power. His skin was pale and his ears looked as though they were the fins of a fish. Small patches of scales could be seen along his body, and incisions, like a fishes gills, could be seen on his sides.

He was beautiful, though his appearance could be seen as frightening. His hair was a bright, unnatural green, and his eyes were the color of the deepest seas. As Mark got closer, he could also see a scaly tail, where his legs would be, swaying gently in the water. It was a deeper green than his hair, but still beautiful. It resembled that of an eel, long, and without much added fin.

As Mark got close enough to be seen and heard by the creature, all noise seemed to stop. Those piercing blue eyes fell upon him, and he was struck motionless and quieter than he'd been in years.

"Hello," he said, after what seemed like hours of staring into the fish-mans eyes. He watched as the, what he guessed was a merrow, one of the sea fairies, tilted it's head and slowly reached it's hand towards something lying next to it on the rock.

"Don't be afraid," he said. "I came only to say how pretty you look this morning." When the merrow blushed and looked away for a moment, Mark grabbed what lay next to him on the rock.

Now the merrow let out wail such as Mark had never heard, and saltwater tears washed down his cheeks as he reached, large talons now visible but not intimidating. His wails were wrenching, and they tore at Mark's heart. When he looked at him, his heart nearly broke, for he looked so forlorn, tears staining his pale cheeks and his eyes going red.

Sean, at that moment, was terrified. The human had taken his cohuleen driuth, a magic red cap with a feather that the Merrow wear to find their way home beneath the sea. He knew his reaction was probably an overreaction of sorts, and even if he hated his home... It was still home, he had no where else.

"Don't cry, beautiful," the human said, reaching out with the hand not holding his cohuleen driuth, to wipe his tears away. Sean calmed down the slightest bit, trying not to enjoy the affection shown to him by the human who took his cap.

"Can you tell me your name?" he human asked, and Sean could only nod and open his mouth. But no words came out. At this point, Mark believed perhaps the merrow didn't understand his speech. So, instead, he leaned down to show his affection in the form of a kiss.

"What?!" Sean cried out, pulling away after a few moments of kissing back. He'd enjoyed the feel of the chapped, human lips against his own, but he wasn't about to admit that yet. "Are you going to eat me?" he whimpered, hated himself for showing cowardice. He was a warrior amongst the outskirts, a prince amongst the rest of the merrow world. And here he was, cowering before a human when he could just rip it's heart out and leave.

Mark stood, smiling, "Never, why would I wish to eat someone as fair as you?"

"Th-then what do you want?"

Mark kept smiling, as he remembered his deepest wish. One he'd been wishing for years. A wife. Now, this merrow was far from female, but, if the legends were true, as soon as his tail left the water, he would become more human like.

He could spend the rest of his days with the fairest being he'd ever met. One he was coming to fancy quite quickly.

"Merrow," he started, smiling softly, "I wish you to join me upon the land as my... my husband," he said, holding out his hand. The merrow took pause, before leaning over and whispering against the water. His voice created ripples, that grew across the water.

"Are you speaking to the water?" he asked.

"I'm sending word to my father, king of the sea. I've told him not to wait for me." Sean replied, hoping his father would understand. Then, he pulled himself fully from the water, and shivered as a tingling sensation ran through his tail.

When he next looked down, his eel-like tail had been replaced by two flimsy legs. When he went to stand, trying to mimic the person next to him, he wobbled and nearly fell back into the water. But he was caught, and lifted into the arms of the human. He felt the humans chest vibrate as it chuckled, and he looked up to find kind brown eyes and a warm smile looking down on him.

"We'll work on you're movement when we get home," Mark said, carrying him up the beach. Soon, they arrived at a small wood cottage, and Mark opened the door and placed Jack in a chair.

"I'm Mark," he said, turning to Jack and sitting across from him, "Now, what's you're name?"

"I-I... I'm Sean, b-but most call me Jack," he said, suddenly shy.

Mark smiled at him, standing and placing a kiss to his forehead, "Well, Sean, welcome home."


End file.
